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Monday, October 28, 2013

"Do not give up, the beginning is always the hardest."
This is 100% true. If you are trying to break a bad habit or start a good one, those first few days are going to be rough. Your mind is going to try to come up with any rational reason to not have to do something that isn't easy but just keep pushing through it and before long, you will realize you have been doing it for a while and you will be happy and surprised and most importantly - super proud of yourself!! That always makes it worth it!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

"Go the extra mile, it's never crowded"
This is true because not everyone always takes the time to go the extra mile and wouldn't it be so wonderful if that extra mile was always crowded? Think of how much better the world would be! That would be traffic I sure wouldn't mind sitting in! =)

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

I am going to start a new series sharing something I have been doing for a long time. I call it the "Wisdom Project". It's a collection of things I have come across or thought of from time to time that I want to share with my girls. Lessons, quotes, stories and things like that over all topics to help them grow up to be sweet, caring and wise young women. Each one of these things shared I have written in a journal book that will be handed to each one on their 18th birthday and at that time, another will be started. They will all have the same things written in them for each one but that way they can have something special to always have and add to for their own children if the want! Just things I want to make sure they always remember! Anything I come across that I love and want to make sure it's shared with my babies goes into the wisdom project. A collection of wisdom from their mother! This is a nice way to back up the project in case anything should ever happen to any of the books.

*side note: normally I wouldn't post a picture of a quote and then type it below it, but for personal copy and paste reasons or the event that the pictures don't show up for some reason, I am going to do that on these entries that apply.

Via Pinterest

"If nothing else, I hope you know that I love you with every ounce of my being. I hope you realize your importance not only to me but to everyone who has been lucky enough to know you. I hope you know that when you're feeling down, I only ever strive for your happiness. I hope you remember that no matter what, I'm here for you and I fully intend on staying in your life for quite some time. I hope you recognize the fact that I appreciate and adore you without restraints, and that this will never change."

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Sorry I haven't posted in several days, I've had a busy and somewhat stressful week but I am looking forward to getting back in the swing of things! I didn't get to do the weekly Q&A yesterday but I plan to make it up this week!

Sunday, September 29, 2013

I have loved this picture since I found it and pinned it to my Pinterest board a long time ago. This reminds my of my middle daughter Aimee in so many ways. She has a favorite blanket that she carries around all the time, she loves looking at books and it doesn't matter what is going on, she just wants to be in the same room as me and the best part is, curling up on the ground like the little girl above is something she would totally do, and has done sometimes. This little comic melts my heart and touches my soul!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I think for the most part, I want to reserve Sunday's on this blog for things that touch the soul in one way or another. One simple picture and some comments on it why it's so beautiful unless it speaks for itself!

(unable to locate source, found on Pinterest)

A child surrounded by books and completely engrossed is a beautiful sight! I thank God all of my girls love looking at books!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

I am linking up with Jenni at Story of My Life for her Blogtember challenge. It's a challenge to blog every day in September with weekends off if wanted. Today's challenge is to write about a memory you would love to relive. The full list is at the bottom of this post if you would like to join in at any time! If you join in, please comment and let me know so I can make sure I don't miss your posts either!

As I think about some memories, there are so, so many that I would love to relive. Out of all the ones that come to mind, there are a lot that have one thing in common...childhood adventures with my cousins at my grandmothers house. We were all there so many times a week when I was a child. We would play hide and seek in the basement, climb in the weeping willow tree out back, explore in my grandmothers costume jewelry box, watch memaw make a quilt (it was her favorite hobby). I have so many memories that I can still remember every detail of her house and neighborhood. It would be so fun to go back and relive these memories because I feel like I could absorb many more details and learn other things that you don't really pay attention to as a child. My Memaw died when I was 10 years old so sadly, most of the neighborhood memories in that location stopped soon after that. My cousins and I did make many more memories in many more locations but those are unanimously our favorites!

Don't forget you are welcome to join in!!

Tuesday, Sept. 3: Describe where or what you come from. The people, the places, and/or the factors that make up who you are.

Wednesday, September 4: If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do? (bonus points for fun photos from Pinterest, but don't forget to cite the source!)

Thursday, September 5: Pass on some useful advice or information you learned and always remembered.

Friday, September 6: A story about a time you were very afraid.

Monday, September 9: Take this short personality test and respond to your results. (at the end, find the detailed profile of your personality account - click "click to view" under "You" and "self awareness and personal growth." You can even google your type and find more info on it!)

Tuesday, September 10: Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn.

Wednesday, September 11: Share links to your favorite online shops, preferably with a few photos of your favorite items in each shop.

Thursday, September 12: Discuss ways that blogging or social media has changed you.

Friday, September 13: A self portrait

Monday, September 16: Write a public love letter to someone in your life. (It doesn't necessarily need to be romantic.)

Tuesday, September 17: A memory you would love to relive.

Wednesday, September 18: Only photos

Thursday, September 19: Creative writing day: write a (very short) fictional story that starts with this sentence: "To say I was dreading the dinner party would be the understatement of the century."

The story does not necessarily need to have a conclusion - you can leave your readers wishing for more!

Friday, September 20: React to this term: comfort.

Monday, September 23: A "life lately" post. What you're up to, how you're feeling, how you're doing on your goals, etc. Bonus points for great photos!

Tuesday, September 24: Review a book, place, or product.

Wednesday, September 25: Write about a time you screwed up - a mistake you made.

Thursday, September 26: Go to a coffee shop. Order a favorite drink. Write about what makes you happy and what makes you sad. Or write about anything you'd like! Bonus points for including a photo from the coffee shop. (I recommend downloadingOmmwriter and bringing headphones along!) *if you can't make it to a coffee shop, at least leave your usual space and write someplace new.

Friday, September 27: An anonymous letter to your Facebook friends. Be as snarky as you'd like. (but don't include people's real names.)

Monday, September 30: Share a photo of something old. Maybe something that has personal history for you, that was passed down to you, and that has special meaning to you. Tell us about it and why it's special.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Today was a nice day. We all got up and out the door on time. I logged in to work on time. I went to a school Mother's Day program with Aimee and it was great. I got there and we all sat down and one of the teachers decided to read "Love You Forever" and we all started crying and then she did also. She told us that her son is getting ready to leave for college. So we all didn't appreciate getting there and then bawling our eyes out...and I didn't have a tissue...LOL. After that, the kids sang songs and were super cute and then we went to the classroom where the kids sat with us and we listened to the video's of them reading their letters to us! Then we went outside and had a picnic lunch and it was so nice. I am so blessed to have my kids, because at the end of the day, my family is what matters most. It doesn't matter that I was bummed most of the day because my credit scores are still not where they need to be for us to buy a house and now we need to start looking for something else to rent before this house ends up selling. Our time will come. He brings everything to us at the perfect time because He knows the plans He has laid out for us! I need to stop worrying about it so bad and stressing because I know this is true, I have seen it so many times! So deep breaths and I am counting my blessings, not my worries!

Well, Sunday we went back over to the in-laws for Mother's Day. We went to my mom's house that morning and spent time with her and then my brother wasn't feeling well so she took him on home. While we were at Oma and Opa's, the guys played some "Around The World" basketball and Opa won!

So, there's these 3 girls. They stole my heart. They call me mommy! I love this picture! They all have great smiles!

Ali and Aimee we off in the driveway with the neighbors kids looking for "crystal" rocks, you know, the sparkly white ones lol. So Lily was over with mommy and we were playing with a ball! She came up behind me and was being silly and I was able to snap this amazing picture! I love it!

We decided that day to bring both the dogs with us and luckily, Duke and Bonnie were there too so we were able to have all 7 dogs (Misha, Bella, Duke, Bonnie, Tobbie, Winnie and Elvis) there playing! It was so fun! Unbelievably, Brenda was able to catch them all in one picture! It looks like the similar colored dogs are grouped together and then there was Duke! Oscar would have been a perfect match for him!

These are the necklaces I made for Mother's Day presents! From left to right they are: Darla, Mom, Brenda and myself! I loved them so much I had to make myself one of course! They have their children's birthstone colors in them! Everyone loved them! I added the little signature charms at the back of the necklace. I think I will start using those anytime I make a necklace. The feather is like it belongs to the momma bird that the nest and eggs belong to. And it can be like an owl feather also! And birds live in TREES!!! LOL

This is also some shots of what some electronics went through this past week/weekend. Ali put her phone in her backpack next to a metal hair barrette and that's what happened. Scratches all over it. Then Aimee dropped her iPod on the concrete at Oma and Opa's and it shattered. Sigh....there goes $100 to get it fixed unless I can get Press F1 to do it cheaper, and I think they do it for around $80.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Early today Aimee's softball practice was cancelled which meant that since it's a Thursday, we officially didn't have anywhere we had to run off to after work and school! That's rare considering this is our usual after work and school activities every week: Monday- Chiropractor and Ali SoftballTuesday- Aimee SoftballWednesday- Chiropractor and Ali SoftballThursday-Aimee SoftballFriday-Chiropractor and Girls ScoutsDon't get me wrong, I love having activities to do and LOVE watching the girls' softball games and seeing them create memories like those that I didn't get to do as a child. It's just nice to know that I can get some things done around the house because more often than not, I have to try to squeeze that stuff in on the weekends in between the errands and things we have to do during those days. I can only imagine what it will be like when Lily starts sports! So, while Aimee was doing homework and Ali was helping by doing the dishes, I went out and decided I was going to cut the grass. Simple. Except that I was going to use our new riding mower and that is usually my husbands job. I realized that the last time I used a riding mower was 13 or 14 years ago. It brought back so many nice memories about growing up in the country and spending the summers and at my Aunt and Uncles house in Payneville and he would always let me cut their HUGE yard with the riding mower while he took care of other things outside like fixing the deck and things like that. I remember getting on there and really enjoying it and knowing that it felt nice to help out in any way I could. My Uncle Mark was the only real father figure I had in my life and the bond we had is what I can imagine a daughter having towards her father. I truly love him. As I got older and had Ali and got married, sadly my time there drifted farther and farther apart until it got to where I go years without seeing them and sometimes that long without talking to them. It makes me extremely sad and ashamed that I have let that family life fall through the cracks. Most of it was because I was a naïve teenager and didn't fully realize the consequences of my actions. I fully believe that everything happens for a reason. I live my life by that. God doesn't let one door close without having another one ready to open. Of course I think about them from time to time and I even called them a few months ago and left a message but didn't hear back. It's great that I know that I can show up there any time and would receive beyond warm welcome, but I guess the excuse of being busy and having a family of my own now keeps me from being able to get up there anytime without planning it. So sitting there on that riding mower this evening, it hit me like a ton of bricks how much I really, really miss them. They are getting older now and I have taken them for granted. My cousins and aunts and uncles all used to be so close. There was never a holiday or birthday that went by that we didn't all get together. Those were such fun times that I cherish! Its amazing how the simplest thing, like the enjoyment of cutting grass, can make you really stop and think about how things should be. Right then and there I decided that this weekend I am going to take my girls and go see them. My hubby is more than welcome to come along of course but if he doesn't feel like it, I am still hitting the road and we are going, whatever it takes. I already know I am going to have lots of tears because I feel the need to tell them how sorry I am that I let things happen the way they did and that was needed to happen to make me fully appreciate everything they did for me growing up. After all, my Aunt Julie is the one who taught me to make spaghetti, properly hang clothes on a line and told me stories of her wild and crazy younger days for hours and hours and taught me Solitaire in the days before electronicsand crazy schedules. I can't wait to get there! That place is definitely Holy Ground from my childhood.Mark and Julie when they first started dating, still one of my all time favorite photos

Here they are several years later. Mark was always the comedian and acting like he didn't want her touching him lol.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Taking care of 3 kids, a husband, 2 dogs and myself definitely requires organization. It's a good thing I like trying to be organized lol! The #1 thing that has helped me these past couple of months is my planner. One day I was looking around on YouTube and somehow came across someone's super organized Filofax video. I was amazed. I mean, of course I knew that a monthly planner can really help you stay organized and I had a small one at the time but I would end up just not paying any attention to it and then that made it useless. What's the point of having a planner if you don't use it. So after watching that video, I searched for more videos of others showing their organized planners. I saw that they used pretty colors throughout it and tabs and made sure to write everything in it. It dawned on me that, duh!, the reason I wasn't using mine more often was because it just wasn't visually appealing to me. I like pretty things, I am a girl after all. The next day I made a trip to Walmart and Staples just for myself. I didn't even feel guilty about it because it's rare! Plus, I knew that it would have so many benefits in the long run. I found this Day-Timer binder planner and it was in my favorite color: blue. It was meant to be lol! I got it but the calendar didn't start until July 2013 and then goes through December 2014. So I went on over to Staples because I knew that Martha Stewart has a line created especially for organization for the Staples stores. I found dividers with tabs, removable labels, zip pouches, cute post it notes. Tons of things to help me stay organized and now that it's all set up, I am in love with it. It goes with me everywhere and I honestly write down every single "To Do" that I need to get around to and I know that I must look at it every day, several times a day. What is so special about mine is that I keep everything in it! Well, not checks/debit cards, things like that of course. But everything else lol. Everything from our grocery lists to the list of movies we want to get around to watching, my personal wish list things like that. Its great to have a personal place for everything you need all in one pretty spot! The photo below doesn't really show that much detail but trust me, it's not bad. I have filled it with tons of inspirational things that make it fun to use daily and that helps keep me on track! I've gotta have my colors!

Look, it even has a little spot on my desk above the other things I try to keep semi-organized. I'm definitely not a professional but I have learned a lot from the other blogs I read daily and sites that I learn things from so I'm not technically a beginner either. If you haven't found the blog world that is out there, I highly recommend you start with the website that started it all for me. It's iHeartOrganizing, Jen has taught me so much over the past couple of years that I have been following her and she has gotten plenty of recognition recently! It's fun to see her becoming so popular!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

I wanted to share this little scrapbook embellishment from one of my favorite designers. I put it in my planner in a place I can see it everyday. I like it to be my reminder that no matter what's bugging you and getting you down, you actually are truly lucky and blessed and things could ALWAYS be worse than they are right now. I love it's southern appeal and the other things it represents too, like horses!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Ever since I was little, I have loved trees and all things tree related. There is something so awesome about them to me. I gravitate to all things tree related from books to pictures. I think my favorite type of tree is the weeping willow. It holds many childhood memories for me of playing at Grandma's house with my cousins in the carefree days! Trees have the ability to adapt to the changing environments around them and grow stronger because of those changes! I thought this would be a perfect name for this blog/journaling/sharing adventure! it will just be full of random pictures that need a story told and inspiration and things to look back on, and we can't forget the funny stuff, it's not intended to be all serious! I will share many different things that I feel other people can relate to as well.

A tree to me resembles how one person can branch out with the many different things they love but those branches that each hold something you love always lead back to make up who you are! It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, "All that we love deeply becomes a part of us." So each time something or someone makes a connection to you in any way, It becomes it's own branch. Branches can also resemble the mindset of breaking off the negative things that bring you down so as not to weigh down your whole tree. Got a bad habit you want to get rid of? Break that branch off and keep the rest of you happy. Just as things that we love become added branches to ourselves, the same applies to pieces of ourselves that touch the world and others around us, we leave those pieces just as leaves fall from the trees and find a new place in the world.

It's amazing how so many things I have loved all my live can be related back to trees. Owls (if you know me, you already know that lol), birds, bird nests, feathers, flower blossoms on the spring trees, warm days relaxing in the shade from a tree having a picnic or reading a book. which brings up how books are made from paper...paper comes from trees..!! along with that is not only the reading aspect but paper being used for writing. When i was younger I used to write stories all the time and my mom would always say that she can't wait for me to write my first book one day. Although that hasn't happened yet because life had other plans for the time being, I still have ideas for the books I would like to write. I am happy beyond compare when i see that my oldest daughter has also taken my love of writing. Trees also remind me of the carved initials on the trunk of two people in love! The tire swing that was present in so many childhoods! It's ironic how my absolute favorite book of all time is "The Giving Tree" I could probably go on and on but I will stop there for now lol. Anyway, Thanks for stopping by! Most likely, if you are reading this you already know me! If not, welcome! I am a mother of 3 little girls who are becoming their own defined saplings right before my eyes and married to the man of my dreams who brought his own collection of branches to add to mine! This is my little corner of the internet to share and document different random things since posting is faster than writing it all down in this digital world! I love looking on the bright side of every thing in life, the "Life Sparkles" (like the sun shining through the tree branches...I know, I did it again..) I believe that is one of the most important things in life! So feel free to check back in as often as you like!